Minimising the hidden costs of tourism in Mediterranean Islands. Waste prevention actions and circular economy perspectives.
The Mediterranean Sea is the world’s leading tourist region. According to the World Tourism Organisation, in 2017 about one-third of the world 1.326 billion arrivals was generated in the countries surrounding this semi-enclosed sea. Tourism has developed into a major industry and often represents the main source of income for the local economy. The annual massive tourist wave toward the Mediterranean, largely concentrated within a short period, places a great burden on local infrastructure, especially for waste management. This is particularly true for seas-locked areas, such as islands.
The growing attention to the potential of sustainable tourism as a lever to promote circular economy is at the basis of the BLUEISLANDS project (ERDF Co-funding under the Interreg MED program), which is slowly coming to an end and is now ready to share its results.
Loads of knowledge about the negative impact of tourism is out there and several small-scale pilot activities have been showing potential solutions to address it. It is now time to take a step further and join forces to come up with shared plans that can minimise the hidden costs of tourism and manage it in a way that is not burdensome for the environment and the local population.
This event - Minimising the hidden costs of tourism in Mediterranean Islands. Waste prevention actions and circular economy perspectives. - brought together EU policymakers, representatives of public authorities from Mediterranean islands, researchers, circular economy practitioners and key stakeholders of the tourism sector brought their expertise to the table to look at how to move towards sustainable tourism with a collaborative approach.
Agenda
You can download the agenda here.
Video Recording
You can watch the recording of this event here.
Presentations
- The BLUEISLANDS project - Athena Papanastasiou, Environment officer at Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment
- The invisible burden of tourism - Jeremy Sampson, CEO at the Travel Foundation
- Regional perspective from the Balearic Islands - Sebastià Sansó i Jaume, Director-general Environmental Department, Balearic Islands Regional government
- Regional perspective from Crete - George Alexakis, Crete Vice Governor on European & International Affairs and CPMR Vice President on Maritime Affairs
- Calling the EU tourism sector for a behavioural change towards sustainability - Cristina Nunez Cuesta, NECSTOUR Managing Director
Press release
You can read the press release here.
Report
Read the written report here.